A family nest
Etsuko and Jiro have their own apartment, which allows them not to live with Jiro’s father. The block is near a river and a large expanse of wasteground. Etsuko says that “each apartment was ideantical; the floors were tatami, the bathrooms and kitchens of a Western design”. She also mentions that “they were small and rather difficult to keep cool during the warmer months”. It is not a surprising fact that all of them were “waiting for the day we could move to something better”. This image is used to show a picture of a peaceful, post-war life, when people are no longer forced to survive and can actually start enjoying their lives and thinking about the future.
Typical England
Etsuko really wants to forget her life in Japan, which is a reason why she agrees to move to a different country and start a new life there. When she sees her new place of living for the very first time, she describes it as “all fields”. She admits that the scenery corresponded to her idea of England. Etsuko remembers “thinking how so truly like England everything looked. All these fields, and the house too.” Everything was the way she “imagined England” and it pleased her very much. This image gives an impression of fulfilled expectations.
A view of peace
When Etsuko, Sachiko, and Mariko stood near the edge of the mountain, they saw “the harbor looking a dense piece of machinery left in the water.” Etsuko also noticed that “the land at the foot of the hills was busy with houses and buildings”. The view was so wonderful that Etsuko couldn’t believe that “anything had ever happened here”. It seemed that the war was just a terrible dream, because everything was “so full of life”. The image is used to give an impression of the bliss of a life without a war.
